New Waukesha Mayor Scrima was telling us over a hot Italian beef sandwich from Crazy Train on May 1st that he wants to play a different role regarding ribbon cutting photo ops in the Freeman, as to break away from the previous Mayor Nelson.
Today we were told by the nice gals at Moxie that he will not be at their ribbon cutting. Does that mean he will not be in our ribbon cutting as well now? We were concerned and called BID. We were told that they will contact him to work out a better time if he is available. I thought we were all set for May 22nd.
Pretty please, Mr. Mayor, I know we are just a little tattoo parlor and a beauty salon in the beautiful West End, it will be very nice to have you here celebrating the grand openings with us. We will have donuts and coffee in the morning, and Crazy Train will be out here once again with delicious Italian Beef and Chicago style dogs. I think Moxie has RSVP for free gift certificate. ( I know I will need a facial and a pedi. )
We were asked what we need as a business, we need you, Mr. Mayor; photo op or not, we just like you to show that you are supporting the new downtown businesses publicly and continue the momentum to draw more people with a dream to come to Waukesha, I would even back off on my quest for the return of Scrima's Pizza, because Rosati's is pretty good in the West End.
I do know you have been here several times and have been supportive of us, but this is a big day for us and one for the tattooing history of downtown Waukesha, not mentioning some free press for Milwaukee's/Chicago's Chinese newspaper to promote Waukesha as the place to invest. Pretty please, how about if we throw in a nacho cheese covered Italian Beef and some fried pickles? :)
Not going to ribbon cuttings to differentiate himself from Nelson is a bad bad move. Nelson went to a lot of ribbon cuttings because that's what ALL mayors do. All of them in every City across the entire country. It goes with the job. Why this ever became an issue is mind-boggling.
ReplyDeleteNot going is shortsighted and sends a signal to business that making yourself appear different than Nelson is more important than fostering relationships with businesses. Ribbon cuttings are symbolic events that show that the City is working with a business. It highlights the relationship between the City, who has worked to foster a good place to do business downtown and the business who is adding jobs, investment, and a needed service to the city. It would be a shame if political posturing ruins this.
If I were Scrima I'd attend ribbon cuttings and if any whiny jerk complains, explain to them that you want to reach out to the businesses before, during, and after their opening to make sure that the City can offer resources and support to a project. Say that you intend to not only attend the cutting, but that you want to keep visiting the business after it opens to see if there is more the City can be doing to help. If anyone complains about it, tough crap. Someone needs to explain to these shallow, narrow-minded complainers that turning your back on a request to attend a ribbon cutting sets a terrible precedent makes the City look like they don’t care. I am still shocked that soundoff callers have somehow turned the ribbon cutting into something bad. Shame on the Citizens who have made this an issue. You should all be embarassed.
Jeff, I think the ribbon cutting ceremonies were more about the previous mayor's attire than they were about his attendance. At times it seemed what Larry Nelson was wearing was more important than the business that was opening.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I received an e-mail from the new mayor explaining he will be at George's opening (see posts above) and I think it's probably the right move not to hold the big scissors for a while.
Of course, it's nice to live in a city where what occurs at business openings is a bigger issue than what happens at business closings.
Yeah I agree about the big scissors. I am glad that this is water under the bridge. I really think it would have sent a terrible message to businesses had he skipped them. I think Scrima's approach will work well...show up but don't be the center of attention, let the business owner and maybe the alderman be the stars.
ReplyDeleteWho is our alderman anyway? I still don't think it is a bad thing to have the mayor front and center with the business owner. He is the mayor, the leader of the city, he is suppose to be front and center. However, Mayor Scrima must firmly establish his own style, and if this is it, then we should all respect it.
ReplyDeleteInstead of big scissors, we are thinking lightsabor and phaser. Would that be an issue?